The Port Ludlow Village Council has had a busy and community-building year, from completing one new trail while maintaining others, working with Jefferson Healthcare to enhance the Port Ludlow Clinic’s exterior, hosting county political candidate forums, realizing substantial growth of the Emergency Management activities, holding the annual Newcomer Welcome Event and various Health & Wellness forums, and managing the Movie Night while developing our new logo and mission statement to reinvigorate our purpose to unify and improve our great community.

To all our committee chairs, generous contributors and volunteers, a huge debt of gratitude is owed to you for your commitment and generosity throughout the year. We simply would not be the Port Ludlow we know and love without you. Following is a compilation of the goals, objectives and accomplishments of those who work so hard year-round to make our community a place to enjoy. An Honor Roll of the volunteers is included at the end of the review.

The Committee worked to update the Policy and Procedures consistent with the revised Articles and Bylaws. In addition, they established new procedures for the election, which were tested for the 2018 election. Both of these activities will be finalized and recommended for board approval in the near future.

Communications — Provide streamlined communications to share relevant community/area information and maintain contact with the community regarding PLVC activities through its website, email list as well as continued archiving of important documents.

Chair: Caleb Summerfelt

PLVC’s communication efforts were well received this year with the most commonly visited web pages being the Osprey Trail Progress and Emergency Management Information. The information provided regarding the change in Jefferson County Property Tax process was particularly effective in March of this year. As of September this year the PLVC website hosted 6,259 unique views with the most common inquiries going to HOA’s and CC&R’s, and information about Recycling. Additionally, the PLVC Archive was moved to a more secure platform.

The newly implemented E-blast schedule has worked very well, whereby the community is notified two weeks prior to an upcoming event and a follow-up blast is sent two days prior to an event. This has resulted in increased attendance at many of the PLVC sponsored community functions.

Community Development — Maintain a relationship with the developer, the county and neighboring property owners.

Chairs: Dave McDearmid and Dave Jurca

The Community Development Committee transitioned this year with a change in leadership and committee members. They continue to be committed to a proactive approach to identify and fulfill activities in support of the committee’s charter which is to: (1) maintain a relationship with the developer to keep lines of communications open to share important development activities with the community, assist with compliance to the Development Agreement and County regulations, address the feasibility of additional developments and/or enhancements the community desires, and address the “workings” of the MPR after the build-out is complete; (2) maintain a relationship with appropriate County officials to support the remaining build-out of the MPR, preserve and maintain the intent of the MPR after the Development Agreement, and address issues that may arise requiring the County’s intervention; and, (3) foster relationships with neighboring property owners, such as Olympic Resource Management, to address activities that may impact the MPR.

Dog Park — An investigation into the possibility of a dog park within the Master Planned Resort of Port Ludlow.

Co-chairs: Phyllis and Glenn Waldenberg

The committee members took an informal poll of residents, which showed that 70 per cent of the respondents would support a dog park. Based on these results, the committee researched other dog parks in the area, investigated costs, and determined the specific costs, requirements and codes. They then met with the representative from Port Ludlow Associates (PLA) to determine a site for the park. PLA indicated that they would be willing to donate space at the corner of Marina Drive and Oak Bay Drive as part of a future development.

The committee drew up plans for the park along with cost estimates, which were presented to the Homeowner’s Associations surrounding the tentative site. Unfortunately, the surrounding HOA’s and neighborhoods determined that the site was not appropriate for that use and voted against the proposal.

The committee is open to investigate other sights within the MPR and hopes to develop a dog park at some future date.

Emergency Management — Establish and maintain a disaster based emergency plan for Port Ludlow working with county and state agencies.

Chair: Danille Turissini

With a new motto, “We are stronger when we prepare together” Emergency Management was revitalized by the addition of participation from the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management, a new Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT) coordinator and a Disaster Airlift Response Team (DART) coordinator. With these new team members the committee has expanded its already successful Block Captain program made up of neighborhood volunteers who will be the first to organize and coordinate help in the event of an emergency. In addition an initiative to encourage businesses to prepare a plan of action for the first 30 days has also been established.

All of these efforts were showcased at the Second Annual Emergency Management Fair held in June, which had over 100 attendees. Many tasty and some not so tasty examples of emergency preparedness food were sampled. In addition, attendees learned how to “camp in their homes” safely turn off utilities, effectively store water and food supplies, and try out the wide variety of emergency gadgets available for purchase.

Further efforts this year have included Red Cross First Aid classes, additional DART training and the October 18 Great Washington Shake Out earthquake simulation and communication event.

Health & Wellness — Provide to the community Health and Wellness events sponsored by Jefferson Healthcare and others.

Co-chairs: Paul Hinton and Phyllis Waldenberg

This revitalized committee has partnered with Jefferson Healthcare to bring to Port Ludlow several first rate seminars facilitated by the doctors in residence. They have presented in-depth information on such subjects as strokes, cardiovascular health and orthopedics to our community with an outlook to expanding the program in the coming year.

Holiday Lights — A holiday tradition at the village square

Chair: Dave McDearmid

The Holiday Lights tradition has brought a twinkle to our long winter nights and holiday season for many years. The lights go up before Thanksgiving in order to be turned on for the holiday season, and remain up until the beginning of March thanks to the many volunteers who give of their time and energy to organize, test and install the lights. Much appreciated is the work of WAVE Broadband who donate their crews and bucket trucks to help in the loftier elevations of the trees. Fortunately this year, the weather cooperated and the installation was completed in record time. Unfortunately, two more trees were lost due to storm damage and had been removed by the county. There are now 16 of the original 24 trees planted years ago.

Fundraising efforts to support this endearing community activity were a great success. Thanks to the many donors who gave generously to allow for payment of traffic control during installation as well as miscellaneous materials, light replacements and items damaged due to exposure in our Northwest winters. The committee looks forward to continuing the tradition of the holiday lights and adding a bit of sparkle to Port Ludlow’s Village Center.

Port Ludlow can claim bragging rights on a beautiful setting for its Marina and boating facility and the committee has worked hard to continue to keep the area safe, inviting and friendly. As a result of these efforts, Port Ludlow’s marina continues to host an increasing number of visitors each year. The biggest challenge with the increase in tourism is the up tick in the use of standup paddleboards, kayaks, and other water transportation as well as the use of high-speed tenders which continue to be a safety problem, although most users are following the posted signs of 5 MPH. A current project is to replace the entrance buoy, which will emphasize the speed limits, however, the expense is considerable with new Department of Natural Resources requirements.

Monitoring the illegal anchorage of boats in the Marina requires that a watchful eye as well as the authority to present the offenders with a letter explaining that after 30 days, the offending vessel must vacate the marina. The committee has excelled at keeping the area in excellent shape while continuing to be as accommodating as possible.

The Village Council took over management of the Port Ludlow Free Movie Night after the previous organizers had determined we were best equipped to maintain the momentum of this extremely popular community event.

The movie selection was determined by the students of Chimacum Creek Primary School who overwhelmingly voted for WALL-E as their favorite.

Sponsorships were solicited from various businesses, which had supported the event previously as well as several new contributors. The committee raised $5,400. In addition, there was an advertising fund provided by the State of Washington in the amount of $3,900 which was used to it’s full advantage in spreading the word about our event on five separate ferry routes, on Facebook, a billboard in Poulsbo and banners and signs placed in Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties.

The event hosted six food vendors and one flower vendor, lost and found/first aid station and a PLVC booth of movie themed novelty items for sale. There were also raffle items including a ukulele, television, tablet, birthday party basket, and Hood Canal boat cruise.

Despite the drizzle and light rain on the day of the event, the vendors arrived and set up shop with delicious food, flowers and toys.

The Jefferson County Chamber compiled the attendance numbers by county and we were happy to report that a total of 412 people attended the event including 23 from out of state and 17 from Canada, 6 from Mexico and 3 from Spain.

Roadway SafetyMonitor Port Ludlow Roadways and make recommendations to the County for improved infrastructure, lighting and signage

Chair: Steve Frenzl

This past year, the Roadway Safety Committee successfully worked with the county make several safety improvements on our roads. After holding two public hearings at Port Ludlow’s Beach and Bay Clubs the committee determined several action items to be discussed with the County. Subsequently, the installation of a streetlight on Paradise Bay Road at the entrance to the Bay Club was completed and the temporary traffic control speed monitors were set up on Paradise Bay Road. Future projects will focus on the intersections adjacent to the Beach Club and Bay Club and the zone along Oak Bay Road where community trails cross the highway at numerous points.

Trails & Natural Resources — Develop and maintain the trails and natural resources of the community and promote community awareness and appreciation of the established walking and biking trails.

Chairs: John Fillers and Tim Rensema.

Every year the trails committee relies on its four sponsors, LMC, PLA PLVC, and SBCA for their equal donations, which makes it possible to fulfill their mission. Over 50 volunteers contribute many hours as trails stewards and workers on special projects.

This year, in addition to the regular mowing, weed whacking, clipping and downed tree removal activities, the group further developed and repaired three of the seventeen trails which total 26 plus miles of walking, hiking and biking opportunities.

Those three trails include Osprey, Interpretive/Ludlow Falls Loop and Picnic Point. Osprey is the newest trail and quickly becoming a favorite. Terraced steps and cleanup of the Native Plant Garden were undertaken in the Interpretive Trail and the Picnic Point Trail received a facelift, which eliminated the mud problem and now allows for a pleasant walk year round.

Other activities include the annual Scotch Broom Sweep, the cleaning of 54 birdhouses and the addition of new shelters, chain saw use training, and completion of the map of the trails. Additionally, a long-range plan and organization, policy and procedures documents were approved to help the committee to work better toward their future goals.

Welcome Event — An annual event to encourage the newcomers to Port Ludlow to meet and speak to the social, sports, and service organizations in the community.

Co-chairs: Phyllis Waldenberg and Pat Page

Thanks to funding from LMC, PLVC and SBCA the Welcome Event was a huge success. This year’s event was held on a beautiful Wednesday, July 11 at the Bay Club where approximately 77 newcomers attended with 41 clubs and organizations and for the first time, 8 businesses participating in the meet and greet event. Along with the free food and refreshments beautifully displayed with donated centerpieces, there were raffle items that were taken home by two very lucky new Port Ludlow residents. Shuttle service was provided to satellite parking areas to avoid congestion at the Bay Club parking lot.

This year the Utilities Committee’s main focus has been to track the geoduck issue, which had not been resolved in 2017. In 2016 Olympic Water and Sewer, Inc. (OWSI) and Larry Smith, President began working with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on the sewer outfall easement with an initial charge of $134,000 per year. After two years of work that included underwater surveys, studying pipeline alternatives, and direct negotiations, an amount of only $8,500 per year was assessed. This resulted in a bi-monthly rate increase of only $2.00 per ratepayer. The cost to perform the surveys and alternatives studies was $79,082 which OWSI will recover with the stated bi-monthly surcharge.

We are fortunate to have within our community a convenient and comprehensive recycling station. However, reported misuse of the bins has continued and the Utilities Committee responded to a request for improved signage. In addition, changes in the international recycle market have posed a challenge to county officials to maintain a viable recycling program. An education campaign is underway to improve recycling practices and new signs have been posted. The County introduced the motto “When in Doubt, Throw it Out” in an effort to reduce the amount of trash that is placed in the recycle bins.

The purpose of the PLVC as stated in our Article of Incorporation continues to be threefold: Be a unifying force by building consensus, maintain and preserve trails and open space, promote the general interests of the community. To accomplish those purposes, the past year has seen the settlement of the tree harvest dispute in conjunction with LMC

As I’m sure you have noticed, the holiday lights have been installed on the trees in the median of Paradise Bay Road between the new Cottages and the Village Center. This installation was performed by PLVC volunteers with the help of WAVE broadband who provided bucket trucks in order to reach the higher branches. Isn’t it just wonderful to drive around the bend and see the trees all bright and twinkling!

Although commercial grade lights were purchased, the distribution system needed to be upgraded this year to minimize the outages we experienced in the past. In addition, we must hire flaggers to route the traffic safely around the volunteers whenever we are installing or removing the lights. These expenditures amounted to about $1,600 this year.

Since PLVC does not collect dues nor receive funds from LMC or SBCA, I would like to ask your help to offset these expenditures with a donation. We are very pleased to maintain this tradition in Port Ludlow and your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Since PLVC is a 501(c)3 charitable institution, your donation may be deductible from your income tax. If your employer has a charitable gift matching program, I would ask that you request whatever is eligible from them. Please send your donation to the above address, identified as “Holiday Lights”.

Be sure to drive your holiday visitors past the lights, they twinkle from dusk to dawn.

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Firefighters Art Carbajol, Kurt VanNess on the ladder, Lonnie Reynolds and Matt Binder helping remove Holiday lghts from the trees in the median on Paradise Bay Road in front of the Port Ludlow Village Center. Up the road and not in the photo was Justin Slye directing traffic.